KT, China Mobile, NTT DoCoMo team up for 5G

KT’s network division chief Oh Seong-mok, center, poses with China Mobile’s technology division chief Wang Xiaowin, left, and NTT DoCoMo Chief Technology Officer Seizo Onoe after announcing a joint declaration to cooperate for the development of fifth-generation mobile networks during a meeting for the Strategic Cooperation Framework Agreement at the Arts Hotel in Barcelona, Spain, Sunday. / Courtesy of KT

Korea’s top network operator joins hands with Coway for smart home business

By Kim Yoo-chul, Yoon Sung-won

BARCELONA, Spain ― KT, the nation’s second-largest mobile carrier, said Monday that it has teamed up with China Mobile and NTT DoCoMo to jointly develop the fifth-generation or 5G network technology.

“KT has agreed with China Mobile and NTT DoCoMo of Japan for co-development of 5G mobile technology. The agreement calls for joint marketing to promote new telecommunications technology,” KT said in a statement on the sidelines of 2015 Mobile World Congress (MWC) exhibition here.

The CEOs of the three companies signed the deal. KT was the first to offer a proposal to hold a meeting with the Chinese and Japanese firms ― all are key members of the Strategic Cooperation Framework Agreement (SCFA) which was signed in 2011.

The three Asian mobile operators will share key information in technology to develop customized 5G tech specifically for the Asian market.

Meanwhile, they will launch a joint verification and trial test for advanced wireless technology with the companies holding talks to establish a standard in 5G and the Internet of Things.

KT CEO and Chairman Hwang Chang-gyu proposed his counter-partners at China Mobile and NTT DoCoMo create a task force inside the SCFA, a move aimed at taking a clear lead over their European and American rivals. Hwang's proposal has been accepted.

“The 5G technology is the next big wave in the industry that can't be refused. Closer cooperation with China Mobile and NTT DoCoMo will help us provide more customized services to our valued customers beyond their expectation,” Hwang said in the statement.

IoT alliance with Coway

KT said Monday it has signed an agreement with local household appliances maker Coway to jointly launch a smart home care business at the ongoing Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2015 in Barcelona, Spain.

The nation’s largest fixed-line operator said it will tap into its technologies related to the Internet of Things (IoT) to connect them with Coway’s home appliances such as air cleaners, water purifiers and bidets.

“We expect that KT’s technological capability in the IoT and big data analysis to enhance competitiveness of Coway’s eco-friendly household appliances and smart home IoT business,” said KT Chairman Hwang Chang-gyu. “We will provide our customers with new experiences and values under the cooperation with Coway in the smart home IoT business.”

Coway CEO Kim Dong-hyeon also said, “Our customer visiting and indoor environment consulting services will create synergy with KT and we will be able to offer better customer care services.”

The two companies said they will release the smart air care service, which is the first project of the smart home care business, within the year and will work further together to devise new services and business opportunities.

At the MWC 2015 exhibition, KT connected its IoT network, platform and big data analysis technologies to Coway’s smart air cleaners to demonstrate world’s first indoor environment consulting service dubbed “Smart Air Care.”

Sensors attached inside a house collect indoor air condition information and transmit it to the IoT platform, where it conducts a big data analysis to devise an indoor environment consultation. KT said it plans to launch the service for ordinary households in the latter half of this year.

KT said the two companies have worked for the smart air care service since last year and about 1,100 households are using the service on trial from January.